


Always His

by IncendiaGlacies



Series: Doomworld AU [2]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, RipFic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-11 12:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11148186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: Companion piece to 'In Any Reality' from Rip's POV. Eobard Thawne is a smart man, there’s no way he makes the same mistake twice. In other words, a Doomworld AU where Thawne takes away Gideon from Rip as well in order to prolong the torture of losing everyone.





	Always His

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read 'In Any Reality' I do recommend reading that first.
> 
> This is slightly darker than the first part, but it’s Rip and he’s not always a happy person especially when he’s left alone for a year. 
> 
> Warnings: character deaths and Timeship kiss but about as much as is seen on the show itself.

One minute he’s on the ship with his team catastrophizing what could go wrong now that Mick has betrayed them and the Legion has the Spear. And then it’s like he’s been sucker punched. The wind knocked right out of him, his head pounding like he’s got a hangover after a night out drinking with the Rogues. As strange as it may sound, it’s like the world goes topsy-turvy, like he’s on a rollercoaster going upside down.

And then he’s in a glass cage. That’s where it starts.

\--

He goes two days without any food or water, almost passing out from the exhaustion and starvation. But as far as torture goes, Eobard Thawne has nothing on Vandal Savage. He knows he has to get out of here: find his team, find out some way to correct this reality. Who knows where the other Legends are. Does Thawne have them in individual holding cells? Did he just kill them off? The thought makes him sick. And his ship, the Waverider. And Gideon. He needs his ship back too, what kind of Captain is he without his ship?

Finally on the third day he’s given food and water and is graced with the presence of Eobard Thawne himself.

“So how do you like what I’ve done with the place?” Eobard greets as he enters the pipeline, “StarLabs is now mine, properly this time. No need to masquerade as someone else this time. You know, I didn’t realize how much I missed being here? Of course I had to keep Cisco and Caitlin. Damien didn’t want any of them to survive, but what can I say? I’m a sentimental guy.”

“This won’t last,” Rip spits out, “When I get out of here and find my team we are going to reverse whatever it is you’ve done.”

“Oh, oh no,” Eobard teases, “You see that might be a slight problem. Seeing as I’ve given the idiot Legends complete new realities and personalities. Like your friends Sara and Jax? Yeah, they work for me now. In this reality, I run everything. Might as well get used to it. Enjoy your meal.”

He leaves then. He doesn’t come back for a few days again. Every time spouting off some more trite bad guy monologue, honestly Rip has had just about enough of it. He almost wishes the pipelines were soundproof as well. Eobard starts telling him about what has happened to his friends: the vigilantes being targeted one by one, Sara and Amaya are assassins. So on and so forth.

It doesn’t matter though. Rip knows he can get out of here. He survived Savage, he survived being brainwashed by the Legion. He knows all he has to do is get out of here, find his team, talk some sense into them and then somehow get to the Waverider so they can safely think of a plan.

He holds on to this hope, this pathetic hope that somehow everything will work out. Then he meets the person that takes it all away in a second.

“And of course, this is my personal secretary, Gideon,” Eobard tightens his hold around the brunette by his side.

It’s like his heart has dropped into his stomach. It’s Gideon, his Gideon. She looks exactly as he had always imagined her. A beautiful woman to fit her beautiful personality, but how could Eobard ever know about what was in his mind? Her soft curls, pink lips, high cheekbones and her wide innocent eyes. It’s all Gideon.

And right now Thawne has a vice grip around her waist, Rip doesn’t miss the possessiveness of the grasp. His stomach lurches at the thought of them, the thought of Gideon being loyal to the man who intruded his mind in the most barbaric way possible, turned him against his friends. His mind crosses the terrible actions that might have occurred, Gideon being used against her will. Thawne twisted reality to use her like this, to twist the knife further. If she were aware of what was happening, she would be just as disgusted as Rip.

The thought that she would hate what has been done to her is what hurts him the most. He’s always been careful to not overstep his boundaries, to not command anything of Gideon that overrides her own free will. Although he was not in the right state of mind, Rip will never forgive himself for overriding her and forcing her to disable the ship. Except now, Thawne has his arm around Rip’s best friend – and that shouldn’t even be possible because Gideon has never had an actual physical form, but Rip is more worried about her treatment to think about how badly reality has been damaged – and he’s stuck behind a glass wall forced to watch it all and there’s nothing he can do to comfort her and save her from squirming. Nothing.

\--

The next time Thawne comes to visit him sans Gideon, Rip doesn’t hesitate to tear into him.

“What did you do to her?” Rip growls.

“Now, Mr. Hunter. Temper, temper,” Thawne smiled maliciously, “As to the ‘her’ you refer to, you’re really going to have to be more specific. Is it the former Captain Lance? Vixen from the JSA who joined the ragtag Legends? Or Gideon? Your former AI? Because she is a really good secretary, let me tell you.”

Rip continues to glare at the man in front of him but holds his tongue, he refuses to give Thawne the win of getting a rise out of him.

“You know in another timeline, another far different than what we have now, things were different. Gideon was mine back then. Oh good times,” Thawne goads.

Rip slams his hands against the glass, “She’s not yours. She’s mine. Always.”

“You know, I don’t know how much she would like being treated as a possession given that she is a person. Well now, anyways,” Thawne grants.

“Why her?” Rip has to ask quietly, “Why couldn’t you just leave your fractured reality at the Legends? You didn’t have to touch her.”

“You know my original plan was to have you trapped in the Waverider. Just turn your home into your own personal hell. I’d probably even shrink it down, keep you around like the little toy that you are,” Thawne grins, “But then I realized that it wouldn’t work. I already tried brainwashing you and I made sure to turn all your friends into enemies. Well almost all of them, I forgot one. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

“So you decided to take everyone away from me properly this time. And kept me awake for the torture of it all,” Rip surmised.

Thawne shrugged, “Part of it. And also insurance,” noticing the prisoner’s confused frown he continued, “The first time I grossly underestimated your relationship with the AI. A grave mistake on my part, of course you would be dependent on the AI. You’re a Time Master, they have more meaningful relations with their technology than actual people. So here’s the thing, your AI, she has a physical form. She’s human now, and you can’t tell me that isn’t something she’s always wanted. She’s human and she’s happy. If you tell her about the actual reality, one where she was nothing but code, I very much doubt she’ll want to help or believe you. And if you do think about changing back reality, then just remember you are effectively murdering your friend. She wouldn’t be human without the Spear. Just some food for thought.”

As Thawne walks away after the last word, it pains Rip to think the other man may actually be right for once.

\--

Then Gideon starts visiting on her own, without Thawne. The first time she comes down the first thing he does is beg her to see the truth. This version of reality was a lie, it wasn’t real. Surely, if he could get her to realize that on her own he wouldn’t need to break her heart like Thawne had implied.

He pleads with her to remember him, he was her Captain. In any reality, he knows Gideon would always support him. She was the one thing that kept him going sometimes, omnipresent to the point that honestly sometimes he forgot about it. She was what had guided him, comforted him when he lost his family, she agreed to abandon the Time Masters and join him on his crusade. Some days he doesn’t think he would have formed the Legends without Gideon’s support. It’s not like he would have been able to confiscate the Waverider if she had ratted him out.

But now there is no registry in her eyes. Her tone is cold and perfunctory, it’s clear she’s following orders with no heart. What had Thawne done to his Gideon? She used to be blunt, sassy yet always warm when delivering the cold hard truth. It was like she now had a body but had lost her soul.

He loses his temper, like he’s prone to, as he realizes that nothing is jogging her memory. He winces and a wave of guilt washes over him when he sees her flinch. He would never hurt her, he never meant to scare her. He’s so used to Gideon putting up with every outburst he has, he forgets that it’s not actually nice of him. But it’s the first time he sees a break in her neutral composure, an actual reaction from her.

It pushes him to ask if she’ll even care if he dies. When she says ‘no’, it’s almost enough to give up right then and there. Because why should he try and believe, when the one person (in this reality anyways) who has always been in his corner, suddenly doesn’t care?

\--

It takes him a while, but he takes time to himself to regroup. He needs a plan, or at the very least the will to follow through with his original plan, whatever that was. It occurs to him one day that Thawne had intended to keep him prisoner in the Waverider, meaning it is somewhere. He was supposed to be imprisoned in there with Gideon. And he knows in his heart that his Gideon would never have given up on him had that happened. So he can’t give up on her. He needs to get through to her.

His first idea is simple. Gideon used to be an AI. Thawne may have created a reality in which she was human, but surely he couldn’t have created concrete memories of her past being human. This reality is still relatively new, not yet set. If he could find holes, something to shed doubt onto Gideon’s life then perhaps he could make her realize the truth.

He’s tried telling her the truth: he was a time traveler, he had a team, they used to protect time. But her response is the same as trying to get her to remember. He can’t tell her anything, she doesn’t believe him. Thawne took away his only support system left. So instead he starts asking questions.

It starts out simple, every human has basic favourites: a colour, food, every sort of preference. Usually those preferences came from personal stories; a testament of their character, a reason for it. Gideon had no human backstory up until this reality, he simply had to find holes in her story.

“What’s your favourite type of music?” he tries one day when she visits.

“Again with the questions?” Gideon tosses back.

“Humor me?”

“I don’t know. I like musicals I suppose,” she answers uncertainly.

“Why?” he asks.

Gideon rolls her eyes at him, like she usually does, “I see the interrogation continues. I like the singing and dancing. You know, not everything has some sort of hidden meaning.”

“Most things do,” Rip shot back. At least they did in this reality.

“What’s your favourite type of music then?” she attacks almost viciously. Almost, because apparently in every reality Gideon is incapable of properly antagonizing Rip. Passive aggressive is more her style.

“Jazz music,” he answers shortly.

“And why is that?”

Rip shrugs, “Good memories I suppose.” At least, that’s the type of music Gideon used to play on the Waverider when he needed to relax. Then he tries again, “Do you have good memories of musicals? Going to musicals with your family?”

Gideon frowns and shakes her head, “No. Just, I remember singing. I loved it.”

Rip’s heart almost jumps out of his chest at the memories, she remembered! Somewhere in the back recesses of her mind, Gideon must have remembered their other life. He remembered her playing Broadway in the background and the two of them singing along between their missions.

“Do you sing now?” he asks. Not so much for information, but because she had a beautiful voice. Light and warm, it would always fill him with comfort and happiness. Gideon’s voice meant coming home. She used to love to sing, surely she still did.

“No.” Then she leaves him alone again.

\--

At some point Rip slowly realizes that it is Gideon. Not just some human version of Gideon with a false past, but it really is her. So many of her answers are based on their actual lives: she still loves music, she hates it when people make messes – one day she came in grumbling about how Snart had strewn about her papers on her desk for the fun of it, and sometimes if he irritates her enough he gets a sharp, sassy response as he used to on the Waverider.

She’s his Gideon, as she always has been. But now she has a body, and though she had never said so to him before, Thawne was right. He can’t take this away from her, she had always hated being treated as only a computer when she was so much more. Except now, she’s alive so to speak. She always has been real to him, always mattered to him. But now she has a physical form. She’s breathing. Solid. It’s like a miracle.

And she’s happy. She’s happy without him.

Somehow, that hurts the most. The fact that he has always needed her more than she needs him. She has a life here, one where she seems comfortable. She’s built a life without him and she doesn’t miss him in the slightest.

(A small logical part of him realizes that Thawne has changed reality and her memories so of course she doesn’t need him and it doesn’t actually mean anything. But right now he just wants to wallow in his misery.)

Sometimes he’s genuinely interested in the answers she gives, he wants to know about her life. The good parts about it. If he has to suffer, at least he can comfort himself in knowing that Gideon is happy.

“What about your family?” he breaches the topic again one day. Of all the questions he has for her, this is the one she always avoids.

“What about them?”

“What are they like?”

“Why are you always so curious?” she evades the topic again.

“I care,” Rip snips at her. He does care, even though there’s a stone settling in his stomach at the thought of Gideon having someone else whom she cares for and loves other than him. A family of her own that doesn’t constitute of the Legends. Then he remembers the way Thawne wrapped his arm around her and his stomach churns anxiously, “What about Thawne?”

“What about Mr. Thawne?” Gideon raises an eyebrow.

“It hasn’t exactly escaped my notice how…possessive he is of you,” Rip tries for a lack of a better word. Gideon stays silent so Rip huffs, “Look, you know what I’m asking. Just please, just tell me he’s never…forced you into anything-“

“No,” Gideon stops him. She looks him in the eye and Rip knows she’s telling the truth. The knot in his stomach loosens slightly but it still remains. She gives him a sharp nod and leaves him. Again.

-

Some days he just doesn’t want to talk. He just wants to close his eyes and listen to her voice. If he tries hard enough he can pretend they’re back on the Waverider and everything is normal. Gideon is his again, the Legends are safe and the Legion of Doom is gone.

But none of it is true.

Some days he just wants to give up, accept that Thawne has won. The Legion had the Spear of Destiny, they were like gods now. Except he knows that if Gideon were still herself she would never stand for him giving up so quickly. So he tries still. He’s told her many times of the true reality, of his actual occupation – leaving her role as an AI out conveniently – and sometimes she even asks questions about him or his former life. But all to no end.

The worst times are when he remembers she technically is his Gideon but she just doesn’t know him. She wants nothing to do with him. She constantly refers to him as the prisoner – he misses being called Captain so much – and her tone is almost always cold when speaking to him. Even when she gave Sara and Amaya a tour of the prison cells – and wasn’t that just another piece of heartbreak all together? – she was formal and cold. In the original reality, Gideon may not have had a body originally, but her expressive voice and warmth more than made up for it. Now her face was stone and her voice ice cold.

There used to be a time when he could turn to Gideon for comfort. They would talk for hours about whatever was bothering Rip. Granted, he didn’t always share everything with her, but it was more support than now. The one thing he could never have from her was tactile comfort like he got from his mother when he was young. It wasn’t something he mentioned often to the team, but it was something he enjoyed, which Gideon knew. Now she’s human, barely three feet away from him and he could never reach out and touch her. He hates it.

He remembers meeting her in his mindscape. How easy it was to trust her immediately. Hugging her once he had gotten out of that awful prison. He misses the closeness. The real torture here is having Gideon so close and yet not getting through to her. But not being able to touch her even once makes the punishment just that much worse.

-

For over a year he has survived, looking only to the next day to see Gideon’s face. Except now she knows the whole truth. What she is in the real world, and she’s decided now is a good time to believe him. And now she’s abandoned him, just like everyone else. The worst part is he can’t even blame Thawne for this, Eobard had warned him that Gideon wouldn’t take nicely to finding out the truth. But Rip had been sure that at this point Gideon would know, understand, just how much she meant to him. Instead it all backfired and he broke her heart.

He almost wishes she didn’t have a human body so he would never see the look of pain on her face as she almost – almost but not quite, and it’s this fact alone that gives him some hope – said she hated him. He can’t forget her tears, the way her voice broke. Right now, he would do anything to take it back, to rewind to twenty four hours ago.

He’s bemoaning his fate in the dark – Gideon hadn’t been to see him today even though she was scheduled to, it was just a stand-in guard instead – when he hears the clanging. There’s yelling and more banging around and then the guard at the end of the hallway drops to the floor.

“Rip! Thank god, you’re okay!”

Rip blinks once, then twice but the illusion in front of him isn’t disappearing. Dr. Palmer is in front of him. And he knows who Rip is.

“Dr. Palmer – Ray, how did you?” Rip trails off. He can’t seem to find the words to even begin voicing his confusion.

“Doctor, man have I missed the sound of that! I didn’t even know. Hold on, let’s get you out of there!”

Rip stands back as Ray deals with the system’s lock, pressing buttons and pulling wires until the glass wall comes down. There’s nothing separating them now. He’s free. He tries not to laugh with joy or pull Ray into a hug when the taller man helps him out of his cell.

“You have your memories, of the real world?” Ray asked, the real question unasked – how?

“Yes, it seems Eobard’s torture for me involved watching the chaos of this world with my memories intact and from a place I couldn’t help at all. Thus the prison. How did you get your memories back? Last I had heard was you were a janitor. And Sara and Amaya were assassins. And-”

“You don’t have to rehash it all. We were there,” Sara comes into view with Nate, Mick and Jax in tow, “Guards are taken care of. It’s good to see you!”

“And you,” Rip feels like he can finally breathe again. His first family died, it was good to know that his second family made it out alright, “But how? And where are the rest of the team? And why is Mr. Rory here?”

“Watch it English,” Mick growls, “I’m the one that helped save you all.”

Nate rolls his eyes, “After you caused Doomworld to happen in the first place. That’s what we’re calling this reality by the way.”

“Still, I’m fixing my mistakes. I found Pretty and Haircut. He had a reality gun. Point it at people and shoot, their memories go back to normal,” Mick explained as Ray complained that it was an extremely rudimentary explanation.

“Only problem is the Spear was destroyed, Rip,” Sara looks at him distraught, “Amaya is dead. And Martin doesn’t remember the reality, the gun was destroyed.”

Rip feels his heart drop again, “So all this was for nothing? We’re stuck here.”

The Legends exchange looks and then Sara speaks up, “We have a plan. But you’re not going to like it. We need to travel to the past and stop the Legion from ever getting the Spear in the first place.”

“You want to break the first rule of time travel? We can’t interact with events that we were a part of!” Rip lectures.

“I know! But we don’t have any other choice. What else can we do? I remembered seeing you down here, I figured if anyone would know where the Waverider is, it would be you,” Sara pleaded.

Rip sighed, “I still don’t think this is a good idea. Unfortunately I don’t have the whereabouts of my ship. But I know someone who probably does.”

“Great! Let’s go get it and stop this hell form ever happening,” Jax spoke up.

“Before that, the reality gun. Can you fix it? We’re going to need it.” Rip stopped them.

Ray pulled out pieces of the gun out of his pocket, “I grabbed them after the fight. But I can’t fix it on my own.”

“Not to worry, I’m sure you can patch it up quickly with the help of StarLabs’ equipment.”

“Okay, and then what?” Sara asked.

“And then we need to stop by on the fourth floor. Thawne’s secretary usually works late nights.”

The Legends work quickly, disabling the guns. Between Rip, Jax and Ray they’re able to get the reality gun working easily enough and Ray finds his ATOM suit in the lab as well. Then they head to the fourth floor, more security guards confront them but Sara is able to make quick work of them.

And then Rip sees Gideon. She panics when she sees him as he assumed she would. Rip steadfastly ignores the comments from Nate and Ray, he has a chance now to return her memories. He only hopes she won’t still hate him when she finds out about this plan, to erase her existence and this reality. Rip keeps his voice steady as he tries to calm Gideon down, she’s backed onto the wall but she hasn’t called for security. This fact sends a jolt of happiness through Rip, somewhere in there, Gideon still trusts him with her life. It means something.

Once he’s close enough to her, Rip follows Mick’s instructions and points and shoots the reality gun at her.

He can pinpoint the exact moment Gideon realizes who she is. Who Rip is. Her eyes widen slightly, they soften and glow with happiness at the sight of him. Rip is sure his face looks exactly the same.

But then, it’s the way her lips part and she barely whispers, “Captain Hunter.”

He didn’t realize how much he missed being called that. Missed Gideon’s love and attention. And he definitely didn’t realize how much he actually wanted the chance to hold her, to know she’s solid and real and his. Always his.

So he acts on impulse and pushes forward to kiss her. It’s like the kiss in his mind, but better. This time he knows for sure it’s his Gideon, and just like in his mindscape she responds instinctively. After the hell he’s been through for the past year, it’s like coming home.

-

After that it’s hard to think of the kiss or even have a moment alone with Gideon once their time travelling plan goes into effect. They already lost Ray and they didn’t want to add to the death toll so instead they were going to infiltrate the past-Legends. His job was simple, disable past-Gideon so they can steal the Spear. But of course things were never that simple with any version of Gideon.

“What have you done, Captain?” Gideon asks the second he’s alone in the engine room with her – or rather just her voice. This Gideon doesn’t have a body.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I do need to turn you off though, just need to run some routine repairs,” it hurt to lie to her like this.

“Please don’t turn me off. I am capable of tracking multiple timelines, Captain Hunter. Now where is my version of my Captain?”

“Oh Gideon, please don’t make this harder than it is,” Rip begged.

“If you’re going to essentially kill me, then don’t I deserve to know why?” Gideon asked softly.

Rip sighed as he sat down on the bench took off his military cap and ran his hands through his hair. He could feel his eyes burning with tears. She wasn’t supposed to find out his plan, he couldn’t do it. Not if she knew. It’s not like he could have gone through with it anyways though.

But it was still Gideon, his best friend (and maybe there was a chance for something more, but not with him, not anymore) and he could never lie to her. And he was done keeping secrets from her. So he explained as quickly as he could about Doomworld and what she was.

Gideon stayed silent for a pause and then, “I’m human?”

“Yes.”

“Would you prefer me to be human, Captain?”

Rip inhaled sharply, “I want whatever you want. Whatever will make you happy. You deserve that, Gideon.”

Gideon was quiet again. Rip knew he was running out of time, they were going to be found out soon if they didn’t get off the ship. But first he needed Gideon’s permission to do anything.

“I suppose a part of me has always wondered what it’s like to be human. To be treated as such,” Gideon admits quietly, “But it is not a fantasy I’ve ever entertained.”

“I assumed as much,” Rip sighed. Now he had to ask the big question, “If you had the choice, would you take it?” He can’t explain anymore, but this was Gideon. She always understood him with as little as he said.

“But it wouldn’t be me, Captain. To sacrifice myself to let another version of me live. I’m not sure I’m as selfless as you are.”

Rip smiled wryly. Only Gideon could think as highly of him as she did, “I’m not sure it’s selflessness as much as it is necessity. It was only a thought. I won’t do anything that you don’t want. I promise you that, Gideon.”

“So we will both cease to exist?”

“Yes.”

There’s not sugarcoating it. Gideon deserves to be alive as a human, even if it was with a different version of him, it was the least he could do for her. But it meant this version of Gideon wouldn’t survive. Speedsters such as Thawne did it all the time, pulling time remnants, removing themselves from past events and slotting into their place. It could be done, but it had always been frowned upon by the Time Masters.

“Then do it.”

Rip looked up, “Are you absolutely sure, Gideon?”

“Yes, Captain,” Gideon resolved, “I know what I want. Could you…would you please tell my Captain that I, well I…”

Rip looked down feeling the flush in his cheeks, even now she couldn’t tell him how she felt. But he always knew anyways.

“I understand. And I already know, He does too. And it’s returned, Gideon. I want you to know that,” Rip confesses.

He doesn’t know if he will ever have the chance to admit it to his own Doomworld human version of Gideon, but he hopes this confession to this version of Gideon counts. He hopes that the version of him that survives one day arrives to the same conclusion that it took him a year in solitary confinement to realize. He hopes that version of him is smarter and realizes it a lot quicker, and then does something about it.

“I believe the past versions of yourselves are now on their way back. If you’re going to do this, you should do it now. I’ll miss you, Captain.”

“And I, you, Gideon.”

-

Rip somehow managed to keep it together as he joined Mick and Nate in the corridor. He kept it together as all the Legends – past and present, or present and future depending how you view it – came together. He held it together when the past-Legends (from his viewpoint) hurled their questions at them, asking where the missing members were and how Gideon was human. Rip didn’t miss how Gideon practically glued herself to his side and he just breathed, taking in the last few moments of this existence and her loyalty to him. Before he had to give her up.

Then the timequakes began and they had to move. As they finally landed he made eye contact with the past version of himself, and Rip knew that they both knew what had happened to AI Gideon. He waited for his past self to find him after cornering human Gideon (the multiple versions of everyone was getting rather hard to keep track of) for the truth.

“What’s your plan?” past-Rip asked.

“What makes you think I have a plan? Our only plan is to get the Spear of Destiny away from Thawne. It’s a one-way ticket for us,” Rip answered automatically.

“My Gideon is gone. I can’t travel without her. I can’t,” past-Rip urged.

It was a sentiment Rip understood well enough. After being tortured in his own mind with only a piece of Gideon to keep him sane, the torture had made him appreciate his best friend that much more. He had been travelling with Gideon since he first became a Captain. He wasn’t sure how to do it without her.

Rip sighed remembering his promise, “She loved you. But you already knew that. She knew what was happening and it was her decision in the end.”

“Of course it was,” his past-self smiled bitterly as Rip looked away. That version of him didn’t get to say goodbye properly. Though it wasn’t like he would get to say goodbye to his Gideon either.

“And this Gideon exists as a human now. And the previous version is dead so to speak,” past-Rip trailed off. The one thing you could never do was lie to yourself.

Rip finally admitted, “This Gideon can’t know. I don’t even know if it will work. I hope it will, but if it doesn’t, I don’t want to get her hopes up. Or mine.” His past-self nodded.

“Just, if it does work, just take care of her. Please,” Rip begged his past self.

Past-Rip frowned, “Of course I will. She’s Gideon. She’s always been mine to look after.”

Rip nodded and clapped his past self on the shoulder awkwardly before walking away. His past self would realize sooner or later what he felt towards the former AI, and Gideon would always be there for him. It was only a matter of time.

He walked over to his Gideon where she was talking to Jax while they waited on both versions of Saras to finish planning. Rip wrapped an arm around Gideon’s waist and pressed his lips to the top of her head, stubbornly ignoring the way his past-self watched them or the way Gideon froze slightly at the gesture. The smile on her face was enough for Rip to know how she felt.

His time may have quickly been coming to an end, but at least Gideon would continue. And she would adjust easily, she loved any version of him in any reality. Gideon would be fine, he assured himself. It seemed rather silly to be jealous of himself, but strangely enough he was. He was jealous of all the days his other self would get with this Gideon. But at least for now, she was still his to hold.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm considering making a third part in which Rip and Gideon learn to get along with each other considering they're basically from different realities now. 
> 
> Also please feel free to prompt me for anything in this 'verse!


End file.
